four ducats

The Corona Coinage (1892-1918)

Austria-Hungary began to issue a new currency in 1892 called the corona in Latin, krone in German, korona in Hungarian and koruna in Czech. It was divided into 100 heller (Hungarian: filler, Czech: haléř). The one corona coin weighs 5 grams and has a silver content of .835, that is 4.175 grams. This made it identical to the French franc as defined by the Treaty constituting the Latin Monetary Union of 1865 and issued by France, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, Spain and a number of other countries at least until the First World War. However, the Austro-Hungarian currency was slightly different in value. According to Baedeker’s guide to Northern Germany from 1913, one Austro-Hungarian corona was worth 1.065 French francs, 85 German pfennigs, 10.5 British pennies and 20.5 US cents. The coins were produced in two varieties: Austrian with Latin inscriptions and the Austrian crown, and Hungarian with Hungarian inscriptions and the Hungarian crown. The old florin or gulden coin remained in use for some time with a value of 2 coronae.

The First World War brought severe economic difficulties, which also affected the coinage. Production of silver and gold coins stopped and iron began to be used instead of bronze and nickel for the heller denominations. Franz Jozef died in 1916 and was succeeded by his brother’s grandson Karl, who ruled until the Monarchy broke up at the end of the war. The only coins produced in large numbers during his reign were small heller denominations, and these do not bear the name or portrait of the monarch. After the break up of the Monarchy, Austria and Hungary soon issued new currencies with new names. However, Czechoslovakia continued to call its currency the koruna and it is still used today in the Czech Republic.

The coins of the corona currency, giving metal, weight in grams,content of Ag or Au, weight of fine Ag or Au in grams and diameter in mm. (Hlinka, Kazimír and Kolníková p. 210)